Grass and ditch liner.



Patented June 3, I902.

N0. 7U|,54|. -v J. M. CHURCHMAN.

GRASS AND BITCH LINER.

(Application filed Mar. 17. 1902.)

(No Model.)

INVENTOR- fiy A p f I I A TTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES M. CHURCHMAN, OF SALEM, INDIANA.

GRASS AND DITCH LINER.

$PEOIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 701,544, dated June 3,1902.

Application filed March 1'7, 1902. Serial No. 98,539. (No model.)

T (0% whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES M. CHURCHMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Salem, in the county of Washington and State.

j be removably attached to railway-cars,whereby the edges of grass platsmay be marked and also ditches laid out or marked uniformly parallel tothe rails.

The object of the invention is to provide a grass and ditch liner ofsimple and cheap form, yet durable and economical, which may be operatedrapidly, and thus save time and labor and be accurate in its operations.

My invention consists in a combination sup porting and gage beam adaptedto be pivotally attached to a hand-car or push-car, the beam having atrailing arm provided with a marking implement and also having acontrolling-lever; and the invention also con sists in the novel partsand in the combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafterparticularly described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar reference charactersindicate like parts,

. Figure '1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a railway hand-car towhich my invention is applied in operative position; Fig. 2, a frontelevation, and Fig. 3 a top plan view, of the objects shown in Fig. 1;and Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are enlarged detail views of parts of theapparatus embraced in the invention.

In practically carrying out my invention I employ a base-block A,preferably of wood, which may be of any'suitable form to adapt it to beattached to a small car, such as are used by trackmen. The base ispreferably adapted to rest upon and across the handles 6 a, usuallyfound on such cars, and against the end of the platform at the forwardend of the car (Z. Hook-bolts 7t may be suitably employed for attachingthe base to the handles,

the base being near one side of the car-body. Hinge parts B B aresecured to the base A and are connected by companion hinge parts C O ofsuitable form, which are connected Withand support thecombination-bearnE, so that the latter may extend above and across oneof the rails 19 on the ties a of the track. I preferably form the parts0 O as parts of a plate D, having slots '5 2' therein, through whichbolts is 7; extend into and through gage-holesj in the beam E. The slots11 i may of course be dispensed with and mere bolt-holes substitutedtherefor, which, how ever, may necessitate. the use of a greater numberof the holes j. The parts 0 C may be retained removably in connectionwith the parts B B by any suitable meansas, for example, cotters f. Thebeam has the trailing arm F extending at right angles therefrom, and abrace 3 may be connected to both parts. At the free end of the arm is apivot Z,

whereby a fork G is connected to the arm,

the fork having the lining or marking wheel H mounted therein, the wheelbeing in the form of a disk cutter, adapted to cut sod as well as toscore the ground.

The control of the device is efiected by means of a head I, secured bymeans of a cap 1* to the beam E, and a controlling-lever J, pivoted in arecess 1) to the head by a pin n, the lever being preferably providedwith a weight m, adjustably attached thereto. The lever has a heel t,that normally bears against the lower end part a of the head, and thelever is designed to swing over the top of the head, as in Fig. 6, forholding the wheel I-I off'the ground when desirable. The head I isadjustable on the beam E, so that when the latter is adjusted the levermay be adjusted so as to be located near the adjacent forward wheel g ofthe car.

It will be apparent that the larger parts of the apparatus may beconstructed lightly of wood, although all parts may be'metallic, ifpreferred.

If desired, the lever J may be rigidly attached to the head I, orobviously if pivoted the lever may have a suitable latch.

Many minor modifications may obviously be adopted within the scope of myinventionas, for instance, a fixed blade may be substituted for therotative disk marker H and the hinge parts may be permanently connectedtogether. 7

In practical use, the apparatus having been attached, substantially asillustrated, at the forward end of a car, with the marker on the groundat a suitable distance from the ends of the ties, according to design,and at the rear of the beam E, the car may be moved forward at anydesired speed. It will be clear, then, that the marker I-I will trail onthe ground and make the desired line, the weight mbeing adjusted to suitthe character of the ground or soil, and, if necessary, a person mayalso press upon the lever J. If it be desired to discontinue theoperation, as when crossing bridges, the lever J may be thrown forward,and the weight will overbalance the arm F and the marker, so that thelatter will be elevated and so retained as long as may be desired. Bychanging the bolts 7c 70 to other holes j or moving them in their slotsthe beam E may be quickly adjusted to suit the requirements of the case.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new is 1. Agrass andditch liner comprising a base adapted to be attached to a hand-car, anadjustable beam pivoted to the base, a, trailing arm having aline-marker at the free end thereof and attached to an end of the beam,

a head adjustably attached to the beam, and a controlling-lever attachedto the head.

2. The combination with a hand-car, of a grass and ditch linercomprising a base rigidly attached to the forward end of the carbody, ahorizontal beam pivotally and adj ustably connected to the base andhaving a trailing arm provided with a line-marker whereby lines may becut into the ground at the side of the car, and a controlling-lever adjustably attached to the beam.

3. In a grass and ditch liner, the combination with the car, of the baseattached to the forward end of the car, the fixed hinge parts attachedto the base, the companion hinge parts connected to the fixed hingeparts, the beam adjustably attached to the companion hinge parts, thehead adjustably attached to the beam, the lever pivoted to the head andhaving'the heel adapted to engage the head, the movable weight on saidlever, the trailing arm attached to said beam, and the linemarkerconnected to the free end of said arm, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES M. CHUROHMAN.

Witnesses:

GUs DALTON,' FRANK STRAIN.

